


Alleviate

by maebyrutherford (maeberutherford)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Light Angst, Thunderstorms, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 13:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4349978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maeberutherford/pseuds/maebyrutherford
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alistair finds that Elissa Cousland is restless the night before the Battle of Denerim.</p><p>tumblr sentence prompt: “We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alleviate

His eyes snapped open, and bitterness overtook him.

He had finally drifted off after hours of effort, and yet here he was, awoken by Maker knows what even though Redcliffe Castle appeared to be as silent as his mind. Not that Alistair had been eager to usher in the dawn, but he understood that being exhausted wasn’t the smartest way to kill an arch demon.

Something felt amiss – he groped in the pitch dark only to find rumpled bed sheets.

“Elissa?” He had already sensed he was alone in the room, yet he called out just the same. Cold feet slipped into boots and linens were donned before he stepped into the hall.

Waiting for her to return didn’t seem like an option. Perhaps because they had such little time left before…well, that was a question for the ages, wasn’t it? A lightning flash illuminated the hallway, followed by a thunderclap, and then another.

An open door on his left; Morrigan’s room. The apostate sat cross-legged on her bed, intently reading a very large and battered tome in the candlelight. She either didn’t notice him or pretended not to.

“Ah, hello there.”

Golden eyes darted up, quickly looking him over before returning to the page.

“Can you not see that I am busy, Alistair?”

“Well, your door  _is_  open. And I won’t be long, just wondering if you’ve seen Elissa.” The rain began to fall outside in earnest, the thunder and lighting becoming more regular.

“Yes yes, not long ago.”

Alistair waited for Morrigan to elaborate, and of course, she did not. “Did she say where she was going?”

Morrigan frowned and closed her eyes, then looked up from her book as if it took great effort to do so. “No, she did not. Unlike you, she had the good manners not to interrupt me. I only saw her pass by. Now if you don’t mind…” the mage flicked her wrist, and with a whoosh the door slammed in Alistair’s face, barely missing his nose.

He sighed and continued on down the stairs, noticing the increasing frequency of the booms and cracks coming from outside. Some water dripped onto the floor beside him as he passed.

It was the smell that told him what he wanted to know; that slightly acrid, charged aroma, that oppressive earthiness that only rainfall carries.  

The guards downstairs confirmed his suspicion, and as he stepped out into the pouring rain he saw her, standing in the middle of the garden with her face to the sky and her arms aloft. Her dressing gown was soaked through and rendered completely transparent. He frowned at the thought of the guards seeing her like this; nothing was left to the imagination. The sky was alight with electricity, the thunderclaps hitting too close for comfort.

Alistair trotted to her and she turned to him, laughing with rain streaming down her face. She flipped her wet hair over her shoulder.

“Elissa, come inside, you’ll catch your death out here!” He wrapped his arms around her and tried to pull her toward the castle, but she resisted.

“I couldn’t sleep, and suddenly I could smell the rain coming, so I had to come outside. Doesn’t it feel wonderful?” She twisted away and spun around, crying out with delight.

He had to shout to be heard. “We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna feel the rain?” He moved toward her, feeling wetness seep into every nook and cranny of his body, thunder punctuating his words. “Elissa, I remember what you told me. I know you loved the rain as a child, the smell and all that, but this is a dangerous! Now please, I beg you, come back to bed!” 

Maker, he just wanted her to  _rest_ , he wanted her at the top of her game.

He reached out to grab her again, but she eluded him.

“Alistair, please.” There was a finality, a pleading in her voice that gave him pause. “Let me have this. Just a little while longer, I promise.” Even through the sheets of rain, Alistair could see the quiet desperation. He realized he had intruded on a private moment, and he felt a little ashamed, even as he felt dismayed that his comfort wasn’t enough.

“Fine, just do your rain dance next to something taller than you, alright? I will not lose you to a blighted lightning strike.” The words tumbled out before he could really think about what he was saying.

She grinned, running up and planting a kiss on his lips. “You will not lose me tonight. I promise.” Elissa pranced away from him, smoothing her hair back and turning her face to the sky, a small smile spreading as the droplets made their way across her alabaster skin.

As he returned back to his room and dried himself, Alistair couldn’t stop thinking about that one word, couldn’t unclench his heart. Not until she had returned safely to bed and they’d both finally been able to fall asleep, entwined in a desperate embrace.

You will not lose me  _ **tonight**_.


End file.
